By Peter Omopo
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally invited the President of Guinea, Mamadi Doumbouya, for a state visit to Nigeria following a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali on Thursday.
The development was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Sunday Dare, while briefing journalists after the engagement.
According to Dare, both leaders discussed areas of cooperation, particularly opportunities within Guinea’s vast mineral and metals sector, with prospects for deeper economic collaboration between the two countries.
He stated that President Doumbouya warmly received the invitation and was expected to visit Abuja in the near future.
“The President had a fruitful meeting, and Guinea is in debt to our president because he got some very good advice. Very soon, on the invitation of President Tinubu, he is likely to visit Nigeria,” Dare said.
Doumbouya, who recently won Guinea’s presidential election with 86.2 per cent of the vote, is currently overseeing the country’s transition to civilian democratic rule ahead of planned parliamentary elections expected within the next two weeks.
Dare noted that the meeting created new strategic opportunities for economic cooperation between Nigeria and Guinea, especially in the areas of mining, infrastructure and natural resources.
“Guinea has a lot of potential in metals, minerals and other sectors. The opening for partnership between Nigeria and Guinea has been established. The possibilities are enormous, and we expect to see further development in the coming years,” he added.
Guinea is regarded as one of Africa’s richest countries in mineral resources, possessing the world’s largest reserves of bauxite, the major raw material used in aluminium production, alongside significant deposits of iron ore, gold and diamonds.
